Judges 21:3:2Judg.21.3.W2TAB
לָמָ֗ה
lama
“why”
- Transliteration
- la-MA
- Extended
- laa-MAA
- IPA
- /laːˈmaː/
Meaning by language
- English
- why
Hebrew · tap a syllable to hear it
Alphabet Analysis
| Lamed | l as in law | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| Mem | m as in mother | |
| Qamets | long 'ah' | |
| He | h as in house; silent at word end |
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The word
Word in context
- word
la-MA
- clause
va-yo-ME-ru la-MA Ye-ho-VAH e-lo-HE yis-ra-EL ha-ye-TA ZOT be-yis-ra-EL
- sentence
va-yo-ME-ru la-MA Ye-ho-VAH e-lo-HE yis-ra-EL ha-ye-TA ZOT be-yis-ra-EL le-hi-pa-KED ha-YOM mi-yis-ra-EL SHE-vet e-KHAD
Exegesis
The interrogative lāmāh {לָמָ֗ה | lāmāh} ‘why’ frames an emotional protest.
Root and etymology
l-m-hlamed–mem–heh
“to ask, why”
In context — Judges 21:3
And they said, “Why, LORD God of Israel , has this happened in Israel, that one tribe should be missing from Israel today?”
About this coordinate
Judges 21:3:2 is a BCV:P reference — Book · Chapter · Verse · Word Position. It addresses word 2 of Judges 21:3, so the Hebrew word לָמָ֗ה (lama) can be cited, linked and studied at exactly this position rather than somewhere in the verse. In the Biblical Knowledge Coordinate System the same position is written Judg.21.3.W2, which extends further down to each syllable (Judg.21.3.W2.S1) and character.